Now that 2010 is drawing to a close, it’s customary for folks to make some resolutions for the next year. In the tech space, there are some companies that should be doing the same as they prepare to deliver on their desire to appeal more to consumers and enterprise customers than ever before. One of those companies is HP. The venerable tech firm had a somewhat difficult year in 2010, losing its CEO, being panned for doing little with Palm, and watching as Oracle took its CEO for its own gain. But 2011 is a new year for HP. And with the right resolutions, the company might be able to frame its strategy and figure out once and for all what would be best in the coming year. Admittedly, turning a company around of that magnitude can be difficult in the tech space. HP isn’t a slouch and in many areas across the firm, its business operates on its own. But in the coming months, HP will need to follow some new strategies to be successful. And it can’t lose sight of what’s necessary — and what isn’t. Here’s our list of New Year resolutions for HP.
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1. Get Leo Up to Speed
With a new CEO in Leo Apotheker at the helm, HP’s board needs to ensure that he is ready and prepared to manage the many moving pieces at the company. He undoubtedly knows how to handle HP’s software business, but questions remain about his ability handling the hardware and mobile areas of the operation. The first thing HP must do is get Apotheker up to speed to ensure he is a worthy successor to Mark Hurd.
2. Remember Mark Hurd
Speaking of Mark Hurd, it’s important that HP (and Apotheker) remembers what made him such a success at HP. Not only did he cut expenses where necessary, but he was instrumental in catering to VARs. He also knew what enterprise customers were really looking for. It was integral to the success HP enjoyed over the years.
3. Double Down On the Palm Acquisition
HP’s decision to acquire Palm is considered one of the more controversial moves the company has made in quite some time. Realizing that, the company should do everything it can to capitalize. Over the past months, it didn’t do that all that well. But 2011 is a new year, and it’s a new opportunity for HP to show that it knew what it was doing.
4. Don’t Forget Smartphones
Following that, it’s important that HP remembers the value of smartphones in today’s marketplace. The Palm Pre and Palm Pixi just aren’t enough. To be successful in today’s smartphone market, customers expect a marriage between solid hardware and outstanding software. If HP can deliver that, it can be successful. If not, it will fail in the smartphone space.
5. Make 3PAR A Winner
HP spent some considerable cash to get its hands on storage company 3PAR this year. But in 2011, it needs to prove to the critics that it knew what it was doing. For now, the changes aren’t readily apparent. But if HP can bring 3PAR’s offering to its enterprise customers and show that it’s something they really need, the company can go a long way in justifying the billions it paid for the firm.
6. Ditch the HP Slate
The HP Slate 500 was first shown off at CES this past January. And although some believed it would never see store shelves due to HP’s Palm plans, it’s finally available. The only issue is, it runs Windows 7, which isn’t quite appealing in the tablet space right now. Moreover, it doesn’t have the hype that Apple’s iPad enjoys. At this point, it’s probably best if HP discontinues the HP Slate 500 in 2011 and sticks with other tablets.
7. Deliver Viable Tablets
Speaking of those tablets, 2011 should be an important year for HP. The company has WebOS, and it should have the expertise to build a solid tablet to consumers. By combining those two elements, HP can offer more viable tablets than the Slate 500 and prove that it really knows what customers seek in that space. That should be towards the top of HP’s resolution list in 2011.
8. Keep Dell Down
Over the past couple years, HP has been extremely successful at keeping Dell down. In 2011, the company should ensure that it maintains that level of success. Dell is a real and credible threat to HP’s business. And to simply ignore it would be a huge mistake. HP is too heavily invested in the computing space (and the enterprise) to let Dell win. And it can’t forget that.
9. Stop Giving Oracle Ground
When Mark Hurd was ousted from HP, he quickly moved over to Oracle. It was a shocking development. And it showed that HP, while still a leader in the server space, is vulnerable. That thought was echoed recently by Oracle’s Larry Ellison. For its part, HP needs to stop allowing Oracle to gain ground. Oracle might have Hurd, but HP is still HP. And it needs to remember that.
10. Be HP
Finally, HP needs to be, well, HP. There is a reason why HP is so successful. The company has been able to strike a chord with both enterprise customers and consumers. And it typically knows what those vastly different customers are looking for. It needs to maintain that focus (and ability) in 2011. If it loses its way, it will lose its position as market leader.
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